KIEV, March 31, 2008 (AFP) - Ukrainian boxer Vitali Klitscho, the former WBC world heavyweight champion, said Monday he would run for the post of mayor of Kiev, Interfax news agency reported Monday.

'I go to the election on behalf of Kievans, I do not represent any political party,' Klitschko was quoted as saying by Interfax.

Earlier this month, the Ukrainian parliament ordered early elections following corruption accusations against the incumbent Leonid Chernovetsky.

Klitschko, whose brother Wladimir currently holds the WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles, lost to banker Chernovetsky in the mayoral election in 2006.

The 36-year-old Klitschko, who has returned to boxing after a short retirement, is one of the most popular public figures in Ukraine.

He was a fervent supporter of the 'orange revolution' that ousted an entrenched regime and brought pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko to power in late 2004.

'Kiev, which was a museum city, a garden city, has been transformed into a stone jungle,' said Klitschko in an interview with AFP in 2007.